
Egypt's Army Chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (Photo: Reuters)
Egyptian army chief Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi kept open the possibility of a presidential run in an interview published by the Kuwaiti Al-Seyassah newspaper on Thursday.
When asked whether he was a candidate for the presidency, El-Sisi responded with a rhetorical question, stating "Would this please everybody? Would this please some foreign powers? In any case, let's see what the days bring."
Although presidential elections are expected within six months, not one of the politicians defeated by ousted president Mohamed Morsi in last year's polls have declared their candidacy. El-Sisi, meanwhile, continues to inspire widespread speculations about his intentions.
It is widely assumed that El-Sisi would win the elections if he ran, which would once again place the presidency under the control of Egypt's military establishment. The military has dominated state affairs since it overthrew the monarchy in 1952.
In the interim government installed after Morsi's ouster in July, El-Sisi holds two positions; defence minister, as well as deputy prime minister.
Since Morsi's removal, El-Sisi's public profile – lionised by state media – has significantly grown. On Wednesday evening, he prayed beside the coffins of 11 soldiers killed by a suicide bomber in the Sinai Peninsula during a ceremony that was broadcasted live on state TV.
While he is loved by Egyptians seeking a semblance of stability after three tumultuous years, El-Sisi has been demonised by the Muslim Brotherhood, the group from which Morsi hails.
Islamists accuse El-Sisi of orchestrating a coup against a democratically elected leader, and they hold him responsible for the death of hundreds of Morsi supporters killed in a security crackdown since the president's ouster.
Throughout the Al-Sayasseh interview, it was clear that El-Sisi's influence over state affairs extends well beyond matters of defence. When prompted about Cairo's shaky relationship with the US, El-Sisi declared that a shift in Egypt's foreign alliances was "out of the question."
"It is unwise to have relations with this state or that, and then to change your alliances because of certain positions. This is not how state politics works," he told the newspaper.
Egypt's ties with the US have been strained since Morsi's ouster. Last month, Washington suspended some military aid to Cairo, pending progress on its democratic transition. The US has supplied Egypt with billions of dollars in military and other aid since it signed a 1979 peace treaty with Israel.
A visit by senior Russian officials to Cairo last week fuelled speculations that Egypt was looking for new allies.
But in a sign that the US wishes to mend fences with Cairo, US Secretary of State John Kerry stated on Wednesday that Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood had "stolen" the Egyptian revolution - a view in line with the Egyptian government's.
Kerry's move echoed comments by Egypt's deputy PM Ziad Bahaa El-Din, who said last week that there had been "a change of understanding" in Washington about events in Egypt.
In an apparent nod to the West, El-Sisi stated during the interview that "some states which supported the Muslim Brotherhood's rule and their authoritarian practices realise today that what happened on 30 June was not a military coup but a popular revolution."
On 30 June, millions of Egyptians took to the streets to protest Morsi's rule, in a three-day demonstration that ultimately led to the president's ouster on 3 July.
When asked why the former president had picked El-Sisi to head the armed forces in August 2012, El-Sisi responded only with "it was God's will."
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